FE2 - Arizona Chapter

[CGOffroad]

24 March - Air and track temp were beautiful today outside of Casa Grande, AZ. The FE2 cars which make their home in the Sonoran Desert met up today for some Test N Tune at the newest racing facility in Arizona. The Podium Club ! The racing surface was completed a few months ago and curbing will be going in over the summer. Buildings and facilities are going up as quickly as permitting, construction and materials allow.

https://www.podiumclub.com/roadcourse

It was a fantastic day and after each of us had a few sessions to get familiar with the circuit, we got the cars together on track and had some good fun running close with each other.

Corey (red car) has a YouTube channel and when we can get together again to drop off some in car video, he plans to put it up there.

[CGOffroad]

Two of the Arizona FE2's made the trek to Decatur, Texas and ran a Majors event with SCCA. The event is very properly named the Sunburn Grand Prix. It was 'warm' last weekend. But, there was also a nice breeze that blew all day and that helped out tremendously.

Special thanks goes out to Jay Messenger in west Texas. I was delivering some parts to him and while in Muleshoe, TX Jay helped me with a little 'tune up' to my rig and got me back on the road. Thanks again Jay and good luck to you at Barbers !!

There were 7 FE2's at this event. Very nice running with the Hillenburg Motorsports guys again. Thank you to Darryl and Roy for assistance at the track and for some great hospitality in the pit and paddock.

Eagles Canyon Raceway went under new ownership a couple years ago. The new owners did a great job with track layout modification and complete resurface. If you have not raced at Eagles Canyon... you are missing out !!

[CGOffroad]

Arizona's newest track has received SCCA approval and will be hosing events during the winter season. The endurance event below will kick it off. Looking forward to a good season as well as the continued expansion and growth that is happening at The Podium Club in Arizona.

Calendar of events can be seen here:

https://www.podiumclub.com/calendar/


The Copperstate 12-hour Endurance Race

[TimH]

Great track. Limited facilities so far but GREAT, safe, track.

[CGOffroad]

An FE2 reentered competition last weekend under new livery and ownership. The car below was Brandon Aleckson's car for many years. It was recently purchased by Tim Rose who is a driving instructor at Podium Club in Arizona. Car looked fantastic and Tim drove well on Saturday.

Podium Club is on the SCCA calendar this year and a Majors was recently announced for this facility. Dates and Info can be seen at SCCA Majors / Super Tour calendar. Or here:

https://azscca.com/calendar/

[E1pix]

I’m curious where this track is.

Would love to take a look, the website doesn’t work.

[TimH]

I’m curious where this track is.
Would love to take a look, the website doesn’t work.

Just outside Casa Grande, AZ (a few miles West on I8)

https://www.podiumclub.com/copy-of-members-area

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Po...bjj8?entry=ttu

[E1pix]

Darn, we’re way south and heading more, Um, southerer.

Thanks Tim, was hoping it was on the way, to run laps in the Westy.

Beautiful website!

[TimH]

Darn, we’re way south and heading more, Um, southerer.

Another club, much further along in amenities and arguably just as good a track (takes full advantage of a gulley to provide interesting elevation changes), is in Willcox if you happen to go that way.

https://indemotorsports.com/

[azjc]

An FE2 reentered competition last weekend under new livery and ownership. The car below was Brandon Aleckson's car for many years. It was recently purchased by Tim Rose who is a driving instructor at Podium Club in Arizona. Car looked fantastic and Tim drove well on Saturday.

Podium Club is on the SCCA calendar this year and a Majors was recently announced for this facility. Dates and Info can be seen at SCCA Majors / Super Tour calendar. Or here:

https://azscca.com/calendar/

Link to event - includes Formula Ford Drivers Club group, Vintage / Historical. All tire rules listed in GCR will NOT be in effect... great for someone like me who runs Pirelli tires on my FC with ProAutoSports. So... with my 88 Renard FC I have the option of running Vintage or FC. Not held a SCCA license since the 1990's, this is enough to entice me - already started license waiver process & arraigning to pre-tech my car - most likely I'll enter as vintage.

Lois Peterson Memorial SCCA Saguaro Series Race info on Jan 13, 2024 (387557) | MotorsportReg.com

[CGOffroad]

There are 5 cars in Arizona that we all know of. 1 of them is in the shop torn apart, getting data and electrical updates. It should be back on track before mid year. The other 4 were on the track last weekend. This was a few weeks prior to the SCCA Majors in Arizona.

There was some rain on Thursday night prior to the event. So, it was a bit damp all around, but by Sunday the track was dry and we were able to enjoy some very nice green laps of racing. I had an electrical problem that took me out of the race and Corey is still chasing some gremlins in his car after a complete restoration during 2023. He should have all the bugs worked out by the time of Majors event in March.

[SpzAZ]

There are 5 cars in Arizona that we all know of. 1 of them is in the shop torn apart, getting data and electrical updates. It should be back on track before mid year. The other 4 were on the track last weekend. This was a few weeks prior to the SCCA Majors in Arizona.

There was some rain on Thursday night prior to the event. So, it was a bit damp all around, but by Sunday the track was dry and we were able to enjoy some very nice green laps of racing. I had an electrical problem that took me out of the race and Corey is still chasing some gremlins in his car after a complete restoration during 2023. He should have all the bugs worked out by the time of Majors event in March.

There is great racing in Arizona this time of year, especially at Arizona’s newest track Podium Club. Fast track with lots of passing opportunities. Looking forward to the SCCA majors the first weekend of March.

[CGOffroad]

I just received this photo and thought it was too nice to keep hidden in my computer!

[CGOffroad]

There has been a good bit of rain in the Arizona desert over the last month or so. This was evident when I was flying into Sky Harbor a week ago. To look out the windows of plane, the desert looks green. You will notice in some of the photos below that the landscape around the track is significantly more green than is normal. There was a small shower that came through on Wednesday evening which left very small puddles in the paddock on Thursday morn. That was the end of the rain for the remainder of the weekend. During the event it was partly cloudy every day. Standing in the sun during mid-day felt nice, and being in the shade of trailers could be a little cool for us 'warm bloods'. To sum it up, the weather was simply fantastic !!

Corey, in the red FE2 has recently completed a ground up rebuild. He has been chasing gremlins in the car for some time. Through numerous calls and assistance with Enterprises, to talking with CSR's and then some assistance with fellow racers in the paddock, the problems have finally been located. His car was back to running in tip top shape at the beginning of Sunday morn. Knowing this car is now sorted is a gold trophy for everyone involved.

The format for this weekend was shaken up a little by track management and the local SCCA chapter. Saturday was 3 sessions: 15 min Qual, 20 min Race, 20 min Qual. Sunday was 15 min Warmup/Practice, 40 min Main Race. All of the racers I talked with commented about the format during the weekend. In general there was a bit of confusion amongst the racers as to why the sessions were set up like they were. After the weekend I have spoken with track management and inquired what prompted the change up in format and the simple answer was, 'to do something a little different'. In the end, it proved to be massively different. There were guys who miscalculated fuel in the car. Some discovered batteries that malfunctioned, or didn't hold charge as expected. It caused a need to manage tires differently. It shook up your whole race program for the weekend. It caused people to stand on the podium in different places, or not at all. I was skeptical about setting in the car for 40 mins, but in the end... I am a fan. I liked everything about it. I don't really want to do this format at every event. But, the 'shake up' was fun.

There were racers that came from Texas, Colorado, and California. This track is a new facility and like any major project...it is a process. The track itself is a fantastic racing surface and more construction, buildings, expansions are all in the works. I am certain that the facility will have more progress over the next year and by the time the Snowbird Majors 2025 rolls around, there will be increased interest. I am actually ready to do it all over again right now !!

[azjc]

It was a bit daunting to see Sundays race at 25 laps or 40 min - I knew I'd be OK with a full battery charge, I did some fuel runs and knew it would be close as my Reynard FC only holds 5 gal. and it was full at the start.

Big question for me was could I physically do it! I was worried, but temp was low & I'd figured out a pace that didn't lose much time but physically easier. I'd also been doing long bike rides to build my endurance (I just turned 70).

I finished 2 laps down on the leaders (right in front of me at end) - quick measurement after the race showed I have half a gal of fuel at most. We had a few laps at the end under yellow / safety car that helped but the pace wasn't that much less for me as I spent most of the time catching up to the leaders & pace car. I wouldn't have made it 25 laps - the last two laps were under the green & ran them hard, I had no fuel pickup problems at all but it was close.

I had a lot of fun, format change always keeps you on your toes. I did pay extra for Friday afternoon test / tune, for me it was needed as I'd never run the FC spec Hoosier tire and had to get a base - I was a full 9 seconds a lap faster than my old tires (forgotten how old they were!). I think both Podium Club & AZ Region SCCA did a good job and will get better as time goes on.

Personally: I'd like to see the race at 30 Min and 20 or so laps... but that is only because I can't fit any more fuel in, I believe the original fuel bladder was 6 gal, I'd gone with an off the shelf 5 gal last time I replaced it for ease of future replacement. Oh. I need to find 2 ~3 seconds to be competitive - not win my class... just competitive.

It was a great group to race with - clean driving, I tried to keep from interfering with those racing for position & never felt pressure when being passed.

2nd AZ SCCA event I've run this year and enjoying it.

[CGOffroad]

This FE2 moved into my garage in Dec. 2023. Since then it has been disassembled to install new floors and new data / camera system. I had car back on track in competition over the Labor Day Weekend. This is the car I will run in the future. The orange car seen above is staying in AZ and its new owner is graduating from FF into FE2 later this year.

There is another FE2 being added to the AZ roster in October. I will have some more info on that one a bit later.

[Darryl Wills]

You guys are doing a great job at increasing the competition in Arizona. I hope we can make a trip with several cars next year to run with you. The promise of local brew for the thirsty travelers would go along way to enticing us.

DW

[CGOffroad]

You guys are doing a great job at increasing the competition in Arizona. I hope we can make a trip with several cars next year to run with you. The promise of local brew for the thirsty travelers would go along way to enticing us.

DW

I will start the enticing now. We are all looking forward to seeing what the 2025 Majors/Super Tour schedule looks like. The AZ FE2 gang is already interested in a showdown at Podium Club AND Eagles Canyon !!